Italy's block was a factor as they registered a sixth win at the tournament
Osaka, Japan, September 17, 2015 –
Italy needed little effort to claim another win, beating Tunisia in straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-22) at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup Japan 2015 in Osaka on Thursday.
It was a dominant display from Italy as Ivan Zaytsev scored 16 points followey by Filippo Lanza on 15 points each in the side’s sixth win of the tournament. It was the Italian block that was key, as they registered 11 to Tunisia’s four. Hichem Kaabi was the highest scorer of the game, netting 17 points for the Tunisians.
Italy came out strong, determined to end the match quickly. It was the Ivan Zaytsev show once again as he lead all scorers in the opening set with seven points including one block. It was Italy’s blocking game that made the difference in the first set as they picked up six to Tunisia’s one. A wayward Tunisian serve into the net ended the set in Italy’s favour.
The world No.4 kept an iron grip on the second set. Tunisia came to within touching distance at 20-18, and a good run almost saw them catch Italy at 24-23. But an error on serve gave Italy a 2-0 lead.
Tunisia came alive following the first technical timeout in set three, giving Italy a scare as they took a 15-11 lead on the back of a blocking error from their European rivals. It looked to be going horribly wrong for Italy as they continued to trail at 19-17. But the introduction of captain Simone Buti settled their nerves to regain the lead before Piano blocked to end the game.
